Surrey stroll home against Leicestershire with Harry Gurney set to walk away

Surrey (343 & 111-0) beat Leicestershire (167 & 286) by 10 wickets

By Paul Bolton at Leicester

8:05PM BST 25 Aug 2011

Another bad day in a grim championship season was compounded for Leicestershire by news that they are set to lose another of their promising youngsters to a Test Match county.

The left-arm seamer Harry Gurney is expected to reject Leicestershire’s offer of a new contract and opt for a three-year deal with Nottinghamshire, who are likely to offer him more chances in four-day cricket.

Though Gurney’s 23 wickets helped Leicestershire reach tomorrow’s T20 finals day — which he will miss with a side strain — he has made only five Championship appearances for them in two years. Leicestershire lost Stuart Broad to Nottinghamshire four years ago and face a battle to retain the batsman James Taylor, already the subject of a Warwickshire approach, when his contract expires next year.

Winning the T20 competition at Edgbaston would lift Leicestershire’s spirits but could not disguise the fact that their championship form has been dismal. Their second wooden spoon in three years looms.

At least Leicestershire put up some resistance here before slipping to their eighth defeat. Will Jefferson timed the ball beautifully in his third century of the season and the rookies Ned Eckersley and Paul Dixey applied themselves diligently.

Jefferson and Eckersley fell in quick succession to the Indian slow left-armer Pragyan Ojha, and Tim Linley mopped up the tail with the second new ball in deserved career-best figures of six for 57.

Surrey romped home inside 17 overs against some spiritless bowling despite Matthew Hoggard calling his players into a huddle and appearing to read the riot act . It was too late, though, and Rory Hamilton-Brown’s unbeaten 75 from 56 balls put Surrey back in promotion contention.